The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that there is no legal impediment to increasing the retirement age of district court judges in Madhya Pradesh from 60 to 61 years, paving the way for a possible policy shift if the Madhya Pradesh High Court agrees to the proposal on its administrative side.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih was hearing a petition filed by the Madhya Pradesh Judges Association, which has been pursuing the matter since 2018. Initially, the Association sought to raise the retirement age to 62 years, but later limited its request to 61 years in line with a precedent set in Telangana.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court had earlier rejected the Association’s representation, relying on the Supreme Court’s 2002 judgment in the All India Judges Association case, interpreting it as a bar on such enhancement.
However, during Monday’s hearing, Chief Justice Gavai referred to a more recent development in the same case, where the Telangana High Court had sought clarification on increasing the retirement age of its judicial officers to 61 years. The Supreme Court had permitted it, stating that there was no legal hurdle.
“In that view of the order, we do not find that there should be any impediment in permitting the State of Madhya Pradesh to increase the age of superannuation of judicial officers working in the State to 61 years,” CJI Gavai observed.
The bench directed that the matter now rests with the Madhya Pradesh High Court to decide, preferably within two months, on its administrative side. “In case the High Court takes a decision to increase the age to 61, the same will be permitted,” the court noted.
The Supreme Court’s clarification provides renewed momentum to the long-standing demand by judicial officers in Madhya Pradesh, subject to a favourable decision by the High Court.
